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Umm er Radhuma-Dammam Aquifer System (South)

Rub' al Khali

Executive Summary

The southern section of the Umm er Radhuma- Dammam Aquifer System extends from the Gulf coast in the north and the Oman Mountains in the south-east over about 800 km. It covers a total area of about 680,000 km2, stretching across the vast Rub' al Khali Desert, the Dhofar-Najd Plain in Oman, and the northeastern Hadhramaut-Al Mahra Plateau in Yemen. The aquifer system in this section comprises three Paleogene (Paleocene-Eocene) Formations: the Dammam, the Rus and the Umm er Radhuma, of which the Rus is the least important.

Groundwater flow is generally from the central Arabian Peninsula in the west towards the Gulf coast in the east. Further south and east, flow is mainly north and north-eastward from the Hadhramaut-Dhofar Mountains, and westand south-west from the Oman Mountains. Most of the groundwater entered the system during the pluvial periods between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago, although there are indications of limited present-day recharge through the Oman Mountains and the Hadhramaut-Dhofar Mountains. Natural discharge occurs through springs emanating from the Umm er Radhuma Aquifer along the edge of the Hadhramaut-Al Mahra Plateau escarpment, or in the form of saline to hypersaline waters that form sabkhas in the lowlands.

At present, the only use of this aquifer system takes place in the Dhofar-Najd region in Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE) where the water is used for agricultural and domestic purposes, and, to a lesser extent, for recreational or industrial purposes such as water injection for the oil industry.

Liwa Oasis, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2010. Source: Tom Olliver.

Lake Hatta in the Oman Mountains, UAE, 2010. Source: Maarten Schafer.

An aerial view of Jebel Hafit, with the city of Al Ain to the north, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2010. Source: Tom Olliver.

Lake Hatta in the Oman Mountains, UAE, 2010. Source: Maarten Schafer.

Rub’ al Khali Desert, Oman, 2011. Source: Philipp Weigell.

Basin Facts

Riparian Countries

Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen

Alternative Names

Umm er Radhuma/Dammam, Hadhramaut Group

Renewability

Very low to low (0-20 mm/yr)

Hydraulic Linkage with Surface Water

Weak

Rock Type

Fissured/karstic

Aquifer Type

Unconfined to confined

Extent

~680,000 km2

Age

Cenozoic (Paleogene)

Lithology

Mainly limestone and dolomite, with some evaporites

Thickness

Dammam: 60-490 mUmm er Radhuma: 50-550 m

Average Annual Abstraction

Oman: 45 MCMUAE: 7.7 MCM

Storage

Najd area: 180-1,100 MCM

Water Quality

Fresh to hypersaline

Water Use

Agricultural, domestic and oil injection in Oman

Agreements

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Sustainability

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The Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia is a comprehensive report published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA) and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).